What are WCAG 2.0 Guidelines for Website Accessibility?
Schools and districts are legally required to make their websites accessible for people with disabilities, including people with visual, auditory, dexterity or cognitive challenges. Schools are currently required to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
WCAG 2.0, published in 2008, outlines a broad range of recommendations for making online content more accessible for people with different types of disabilities. In 2018, WWC published an update (WCAG 2.1) with some additional guidelines. The standards provide "success criteria" that can be used to evaluate the accessibility of a website. They have been accepted as an international standard by government agencies, commercial entities and other organizations around the globe.
eChalk can help schools meet the WCAG 2.0 Level AA requirements as well as additional WCAG 2.1 guidelines so they can offer a better, more inclusive experience for their communities.
WCAG 2.0 Level AA Overview
WCAG 2.0 Level AA includes success criteria and guideline in four broad areas. Content on the web must be:
Perceivable for people with visual, auditory or neurological differences impacting perception. These guidelines cover requirements such as alt-text for non-text content, captioning and transcripts for multimedia, and the ability to access content using assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Operable for users accessing the site in different ways, including mouse, touch screen, keyboard navigation, voice navigation and other assistive technologies. These standards include keyboard functionality and focus and elements that make it easier for users to find and navigate content using assistive technologies.
Understandable for all users, including users with cognitive or language differences. This covers guidance such as the use of clear and simple language for all elements (including body content, links and alt-text), translation tools for people not fluent in English, and navigation elements that are easy to understand and behave in predictable ways.
Robust for people using accessibility tools and software. A robust website platform will be compatible with current accessibility tools and flexible enough to adapt to emerging tools in the future.
eChalk and WCAG 2.1
The eChalk CMS has been built from the ground up to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA and WCAG 2.1 standards for website accessibility. We are the newest and most accessible school website platform available today.
Our CMS has been built to address both platform and content accessibility issues, so you can have confidence that your website will meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA legal requirements for school website accessibility and the new WCAG 2.1 guidelines. Our built-in accessibility features and the Guide accessibility tool help you create a website that works for everyone.
Contact us to get started with your accessible school website today. We can have you up and running with a new, accessible website in just a few weeks!